Location
Brooklyn, New York
School
Middlebury College
Expertise
Kitchen products, Urban gardening, Sustainability
- Her lifelong passion for sustainable living inspires her own choices as a city dweller (who keeps a tiny-but-mighty herb and vegetable garden on her terrace) and informs her approach to researching and writing about food, home, and gardening. In one of her favorite stories, which she wrote for Taste, she implored home cooks to stop being snobs about using onion powder.
- Her obsessive desire to find the best tool for every job led her to some excellent finds, like a Mueller Stainless Steel French Press that keeps her morning coffee hot longer and is far sturdier and more break-resistant than a glass French press.
- She recently interviewed professional organizers for their insider secrets on how to keep a refrigerator clean and clutter-free. (Their top tips? Stackable bins to maximize space and clear Pyrex containers for leftovers and vegetable prep.)
Experience
Leah is an IACP Award-winning author of seven cookbooks, including "Portico: Cooking and Feasting in Rome's Jewish Kitchen," which won an IACP Award for Best International Cookbook in 2024. Her next cookbook, "The Dessert Table: 100 Joyful Jewish Sweets," will be published in fall, 2026. Over the past two decades, she has contributed hundreds of articles about food-focused consumer trends, urban gardening, and environmentally friendly home ideas (plus recipes for everything from baked French toast to gluten-free pappardelle) to publications including The New York Times, New York Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Food & Wine, and Real Simple. More recently, she dove into the world of product reviewing, testing kitchen- and home-focused foods and products (like the tastiest yogurts and the best-performing lunch boxes for adults) for Wirecutter and Forbes Vetted. When she isn't writing, Leah is a sought-after speaker and culinary educator who leads presentations and cooking demonstrations around the country (and as far away as Warsaw, Poland).
Education
Leah holds a bachelor's degree in environmental studies from Middlebury College.
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Garden trends tend to stay outdoors, but this idea, which doubles as kitchen countertop decor, is set to take over in 2026, particularly in small spaces.
By Leah Koenig
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